Facebook is losing
Facebook this year has been struggling to maintain its position among the Top 10 apps on the U.S. App Store, according to an analysis of iPhone App Store data. As younger consumers shift to newer social networking experiences like TikTok and now BeReal, the tech giant’s big blue app has lost traction in the App Store’s Top Charts.
Last year, for instance, Facebook only fell out of the Top 10 free iPhone apps in the U.S. seven times. But in 2022, that figure has already soared to 97 — an indication that Facebook may be losing ground as new apps push their way into the App Store’s top rankings.
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For a more direct comparison, Facebook’s app fell out of the App Store’s Top 10 apps just six times during the first half of 2021. In the first half of 2022, however, it has dropped out of this grouping a total of 59 times, per data provided to TechCrunch by app intelligence firm Sensor Tower.
It even once stayed out of the Top 10 as long as 37 consecutive days in 2022, the firm noted, up from just two consecutive days in 2021.
Additional analysis provided by another App Store data provider, data.ai (previously App Annie), also supported this conclusion. It found Facebook’s drop-off times this year were mainly concentrated in April, May and June. April was Facebook’s worst month so far, as the app’s rank fell into the 30s on April 18, and then reached as low as No. 44 on April 21. Notably, this was around the time that BeReal was climbing the App Store’s Top Charts, breaking into the Top 5. Today, BeReal is the No. 1 non-gaming app on the U.S. App Store.
To what extent this trend should be concerning for Facebook is less clear.
The company hasn’t consistently held onto a strong position in the Top 10 in prior years, either. Plus, a ranking in Top 10 Apps is only one means of measuring an app’s success — it’s an indicator of a company’s ability to attract new users, but not its ability to maintain traction with existing ones. On that front, Facebook hasn’t yet conceded. It’s still the top app by monthly active users as of the most recent quarter, per data.ai’s analysis.
That said, when Facebook is losing its Top 10 position to newcomers in social networking — like the current No. 1 app BeReal — it’s more problematic than if it were losing its rank due to growth from COVID-era necessities, like Zoom.
Facebook is losing
